[pjchappy]

Hello, all!

What is a good speaker design book that discusses the various types of speaker designs (from open baffle, to MTM, to planar, etc. and all the variations in between)?  Something fairly technical, but not a white paper.

I have no interest in making a speaker myself, but the topic interests me.  I would like to know the compromises and other design choices one makes in a speaker design.

Thanks,


p

[JakeJ]

Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason has been around for some time:
https://www.amazon.com/Loudspeaker-Design-Cookbook-Vance-Dickason/dp/1882580338/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GLTUHSFMUGFC&dchild=1&keywords=loudspeaker+cookbook&qid=1608661169&sprefix=loudspeaker+c%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1

[richidoo]

I don't know of any books that describe and compare different types of speakers in technical terms, especially with the granularity you're describing. I think many people would enjoy reading such a book, if done right. Are you a writer?

Loudspeaker Cookbook briefly mentions different basic types but there's not a lot of detail. Lots of detail on box speaker design techniques. Another good book about speaker design is Joe D'Appolito's book, "Measuring Loudspeakers."

diyaudio.com and Techtalk at partsexpress have good detailed technical discussions about all kind of speakers. Searching those can find specific info if you know what you want. But it's not a generalized overview of the state of the art.

[JLM]

Would be interesting, but IMO there is no perfect loudspeaker.  The laws of physics and chemistry keep getting in the way. 

The Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus (4-way, a long tapered tube for each driver, 48" x 44" x 17", F6 = 10 Hz, $60,000 USD) comes to mind as one with many positives.  Many designs ignore how the back wave smears the sound via coming back out thru the driver material.  The Nautilus is also an active design that has stood the test of time (being nearly 30 years old). 

[pjchappy]

Who said anything about a perfect speaker? 

[DrJ-10]

If you really want to get technical, JAES has a two-volume anthology on Loudspeakers which spans from the 1950s to the middle 1980s.  They are collections of JAES articles, and most are very good.  One can download them as PDFs, but I'm not sure about costs (if any).

[JohnR]

I have no interest in making a speaker myself, but the topic interests me.  I would like to know the compromises and other design choices one makes in a speaker design.

I hadn't thought about it before, but instead of building, I'm thinking measuring some speakers would be mighty educational.